STATEMENT BY MELANIE NATHAN, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition:
On October 28, 2024, ILGA WORLD issued a statement suspending The Aguda, the Israeli LGBTQI+ member organization and cancelling Tel Aviv's bid for its World Conference 2026- 2027, without a vote. The statement can be found here. African Human Rights Coalition stands in solidarity with The Agudah, an Israeli organization and hereby formally resigns as a U.S. based member of ILGA World. Our resignation is based on ILGA'S discriminatory treatment of the Israeli umbrella organization known as The Aguda and on ILGA's discriminatory treatment of Israel.
We believe Israeli organizations and Israel, should not be singled out, cancelled, suspended or expelled based on the actions of the administration or government in that country, especially when no other country is taken to task in the same way. Punishing the Israeli LGBTQI+ community and its organizations is no way for ILGA to represent global LGBTQI+ interests.
If ILGA'S announcement and actions were not based on pure antisemitism ILGA would not be doing this or would apply the same measures to many other member organizations and countries, such as Russia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Ghana, The Gambia and many more.
African Human Rights Coalition was founded on the fusion of Jewish and African values of Tikun Olam, "welcome the stranger," and Ubuntu. The organization provides advocacy and humanitarian services to predominantly LGBTQI+ Muslims, as well as Christians and others, who are forcibly displaced and fleeing violence licensed by criminalizing laws and stringent societal taboos.
We will not tolerate discrimination, antisemitism, islamophobia, racism, and the misappropriation and abuse of terms such as genocide and Apartheid.
BY MELANIE NATHAN:
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